When Ratchet uncurls after a short cycle of nursing the strange new feeling inside him, he looks around and expects to still find Thundercracker there, hovering above him.
But he is alone in the dim darkness.
He runs a scan of his frame. The procedure is strangely sluggish, not really wanting to obey him, but he manages to complete one after a few attempts.
He is…
He is…
He is carrying?
The red and white wings begin to tremble at the emotions surfacing inside him at the fact.
He…
Thundercracker…
"Oh my!"
He rises to sit on the berth, and tries to calm his frantic spark. He is sure the Sire will be pretty angry at him if he extinguishes the small newspark through pure stress.
"Calm down, Ratchet. Calm down. Everything is okay."
But…
It isn't.
It just isn't.
He is turning into a seeker.
And how the frag is that happening?
Why did Thundercracker come to him?
Why did the Winglord spark him?
There are so many questions rising in his processor that he can feel how his frame begin to overheat.
As a result, he can feel how his wings twitch nervously on his back, fanning erratically as a sea of emotions fights a war inside his spark. It definitely takes some getting used to, and with a curious glance over his left shoulder, he stares at them as they move in uncontrolled patterns.
With growing curiosity, he studies the patterns and notes the feelings prompting each movement, trying to single out the unending ways of communicating his feelings with them and gain control over what he is communicating to the world around him.
When something prompts him to reach out and touch them, examine them, he stops at the sight of his servo. His wings stiffen completely in shock before they almost topple him from the berth, violent distress showing in them.
Claws.
He is growing claws.
He can see how his digits are sharpening, growing longer, and have begun to curve slightly at their very tip.
No.
No!
He can't handle all this.
Not alone.
He carefully leaves the berth, swaying dangerously before he finds his balance and his wings stabilize him. At least they know what to do, because he is clueless. They might not be as large as he knows they are going to be, but already now they make him unstable with the change in balance point.
The first step he takes threatens to send him collapsing to the floor in sheer pain.
His feet hurt!
"Primus, why me?!" he whimpers pathetically.
Every step he takes forces tears to well up in his optics. At least Thundercracker has left the route out of the spaceship open, without any hindrance. Supporting himself against the walls, he stumbles along the empty corridors towards the exit.
When he finally makes it outside, he almost cries at the sight of the steep walls surrounding the spaceship down in the crack.
How is he ever going to get up from down here with his feet hurting like this?
Any will leaves him at the sight of the merciless slopes along the walls. He used to travel them to get up when he was a ground-bound. Now it is an impossible obstacle course, and too dangerous in his unstable state.
"Why!" he screams powerlessly, looking up at the night sky high above. With the first shakes of his frame, he collapses and allows himself to finally cry out all his misery.
He doesn't know for how long he stays like that. All that matters when he hears sound is the being silently descending down into the crack, the wings rattling as the seeker adjusts for the fall and then lands beside him, barely jostling anything when landing.
He looks up with tears in the corner of his optics and streaks of tears along his cheeks, optics pleading.
A soothing croon, almost sounding like an apology, and then strong arms wrap around him, lifting him as if he is nothing more than a feather.
Curling into Thundercracker's soothing presence, he lets out a few more sobs before the stress and the sense of security in the Winglord's embrace lulls him into recharge. The blue seeker bounces and brings the powerful thrusters alive to carry them to the surface.
He shouldn't have left. Thundercracker realizes that as he looks down at Ratchet curled securely in his arms as he ascends to the surface again. He should have stayed to make sure that the red and white seeker would be alright, but he hadn't expected the newly-sparked carrier to despair at his absence.
A gentle nudge through the Winglord essence reassures him that the newspark is well and healthy and isn't suffering from its carrier's chaotic feelings, and he lets out a little coo as he lands beside the crack in the ground.
Looking up at the volcano where his mates still rest, he contemplates what to do. Then he shrugs and gently places Ratchet onto the ground before he lies down beside the smaller seeker and curls his frame protectively around the red and white frame, completely obscuring Ratchet from sight and protecting him from the coldness of the night.
Starscream and Skywarp are safe enough for the time being. Right now it is more imperative that he stays close to the distressed carrier of his newspark, to offer comfort and protection to the red and white submissive.
As he offlines his optics and settles down to rest and watch over the recharging carrier, he wonders about what is causing this to happen. The dream that woke him returns to the forefront of his mind, and he frowns at the vocalizations between The Sky Above and Starscream's creator.
Are there more of them?
If so…
He hesitates, onlines his optics again, and stares into the darkness surrounding them.
Crossfire is going to arrive within the next few orns.
There is still fighting going on, on this planet.
He can't lose a single one of the grounders on this planet if…
…Starscream's creator isn't the only one.
It has to end.
They have to return to the old ways and only hunt the grounders to capture, not to kill.
His optics widens when he realizes that this is what caused him to act so lenient towards the red grounder a few orns before. It would have died, but something in his spark had told him that he couldn't let that happen and had prompted him to act.
/Sky Above,/ he hisses, realizing that their god had manipulated him.
Just like this recharge cycle.
But the feeling of the two new presences within the Winglord essence calms his anger, and he curls a bit tighter around Ratchet's recharging form.
/No more!/ he murmurs, determined, the words a vow to protect all the possible seekers resting below the surface of the earth.
Cybertron's grounders will have to wait. He isn't a god, he can't save them all from the continued hunts in the following orns, but the instant Crossfire shows up, his fastest scout is going to be sent back with a reinforced glyph forcing everything going on back on Cybertron to stop until he has returned.
It is going to cause uproar, he is well aware of that. And he is going to be challenged, but he can't disregard any of this just to keep his powerbase secure.
That is not his purpose as Winglord.
He needs to see to the welfare of all his people, and if these grounders truly are a part of his people in some strange way, then he has obligations. He can't allow them to be hurt any further, not by his seekers or their own kind.
With that in mind, he settles down again to watch over the red and white seeker just as the sun begins to brighten the horizon, proclaiming the slow beginning of a new day on Earth.
The light grows, expands, and soon the sun peeks over the horizon, claiming more and more of the sky in a startling pinkish glow. The clouds illuminate, looking like they are burning from the gentle touch of the light reflecting in them and sending the light expanding even more.
The light claims more and more of the sky until it begins to stretch and expand along the ground, burning away the lingering coldness with its heat. It stretches and finally reaches its destination. Thundercracker looks up when the first rays of sunlight gently caress his wings, and he flickers them to draw in more of the offered warmth.
With a content sigh, he uncurls from around Ratchet and stands, flaring his wings wide and bathing them in the welcoming sunlight. On the ground Ratchet begins to stir when his own wings are touched by the gentle warmth, rousing him.
He onlines his optics sluggishly to the sight of the Winglord's impressive thrusters only a few dozen inches from where he is resting his helm. A glance up has him following the lines of the powerful frame, and in his processor he is distantly aware that he should be afraid of being this close to the fearsome seeker.
Why isn't he afraid?
What has happened?
Why is the seeker here and not on Cybertron?
Something on his back moves, and he uncurls in annoyance to look.
The instant he does, everything catches up with him and the distress from before he entered recharge resurfaces in full force.
The wings begin to rattle and he is unable to silence them.
"No. No, this isn't happening. This can't be. It is just a dream. Wake up, Ratchet. Wake up now, please," he mutters as he curls in on himself again and begins to rock his frame in distress. He doesn't care that it causes pangs of pain from the wings. They aren't his. They aren't real.
A shadow looms above him, blocking out the sunlight, and he flinches when Thundercracker kneels down beside him and reaches claws towards him. His optics widen at the sight and he desperately wishes for them to strike, to hurt him so that everything is as it should be. Their gentle and considerate reaching is simply too surreal.
He whimpers when they touch him, his processor screaming to him that this isn't a dream, it is real, horribly real.
He begins to cry, and violent shaking rattles his whole frame. The touch from the Winglord is far from soothing.
He is drowning in despair and distress, his processor full of thoughts, his spark full of feelings, and the two clash as he tries to keep himself in denial of reality.
Then he becomes distantly aware of increasing sounds around him, piercing through his internal battle.
Suddenly more claws are touching him, arms snaking around him, embracing him, hugging him close, close to a frame too small to be Thundercracker's.
In surprise, he onlines his optics and stares up into emotional yellow optics.
Starscream's.
Tears begin to fall from them, and he mirrors them, allowing the flood of feelings to finally overtake him. He cries shamelessly in the embrace of his creation, digging his digits into the plating holding him, desperately seeking an anchor.
/Ratchet,/ Starscream trills softly
He frowns at the lyrical intonation.
He can't understand it.
"Ratchet." Starscream turns to common cybertronian.
"My Starscream. My little creation," he sobs. It has been so long since he last saw the seeker and… He is there now. He can feel how his sharp digits begin to penetrate the plating he holds onto, cramp-like, but he can't seem to bring himself to let go of Starscream.
"Wh-what has happened to you? Why is this happening? When I left you, you were okay; you were not turning into…this." Starscream glances over the reforming frame of his creator, panic and guilt warring inside his spark.
"I don't know!" His words are hysterical and his crying just intensifies at the fact that even Starscream doesn't know what is going on. The god had referred to Starscream doing something, but if he doesn't know…
Thundercracker gently nudges Starscream, nuzzles his helm against a cheek wet with tears and the Winglord says something which only seems to worry Starscream more.
A moment later he is lifted out of Starscream's embrace to weak protests from the tricolored seeker. There is some more lyrical communication between the two seekers, and he can feel the air vibrate with the movements of their wings, some harsh, some fanning, just like the sound of their vocalizations.
He can imagine their argument, and he begins to struggle when Starscream completely lets go of him.
No!
He wants to stay with his creation. Starscream is the only thing in the universe that is currently grounding him, preventing him from going completely insane in the insanity his life has become.
"Thundercracker is going to take you up, Ratchet. Relax and flare your wings, let them feel," is the last he hears from Starscream before Thundercracker's powerful thrusters ignite in full force. He looks down and watches as Starscream's tricolored frame just grows smaller and smaller the higher Thundercracker soars into the sky.
Strange calmness begins to settle within him with the first harsh blow of the wind, and his wings twitch eagerly when their sensors register the playful caresses along them. The world below is so immensely large, yet so small. His processor willingly informs him of their height, and the fear that should have been there isn't. Instead he feels a sense of complete freedom.
If it weren't for his underdeveloped wings, he is sure he would have willingly jumped into the air. Instead, he looks up at Thundercracker and leans into the powerful frame carrying him into his new element. Everything seems a little bit more bearable with a calm and clearer mind.
Then Thundercracker throws him out and away from the frame keeping him airborne, and he panics.
He flails, desperately reaching for the blue seeker, optics wide and begging, but Thundercracker just watches him with expectant optics.
His wings flare on instinct, slowing his descent, and even if they aren't large enough to keep him stationary, he can feel their strength, power and ability. He is able to tweak them slightly and change his direction and the speed with which he falls.
He looks up at Thundercracker, now hovering far above him, and a serene smile forms on his lips at the sight of the dominant seeker slowly following him down.
The moment of panic when Thundercracker released him is completely forgotten the next instant as his spark fills with trust. The Winglord isn't going to let anything happen to him, and that reassurance allows him to relax. Sensing the gentle blow of the wind against his plating, he basks in the feeling of complete freedom as he slowly descends towards the ground, his wings making sure that he doesn't fall to his death.
Then a sudden sharp blow of the wind sends him into a spin and a short moment of panic overtakes his spark, but the next instant Thundercracker has shot down and is now embracing him again.
When they land on the ground again a few moments later, he is a completely changed mech – seeker.
He is a lot more comfortable with this new frame developing out from his old one, and his wings stand high and proud for the very first time. Thundercracker grunts at the sight of the high-held wings and pokes a bit at them, lowering them slightly by his touch.
Skywarp walks up to them, pushes Thundercracker away with a daring dismissive rise and flicker of the black wings, and then drags a put-off Ratchet with him towards Starscream.
Thundercracker growls at the daring move from his mate, but does no further. He just settles down to keep watch over the three submissives as Ratchet kneels beside Starscream and is introduced to the seekerling for the very first time.
At the same time, down in the Autobot base, First Aid walks in to the sight of the ruined door into the medbay and the shredded door into Ratchet's antechamber, and the missing CMO.
A special thank you to T'Reilani for betaing this chapter.